Thread: Finishing hand sanding

I did a little hand sanding today. Blade wasn't bad, so I did 1000 and 2000. When I move on to Flitz, what is the best medium to use to apply it?

I have some micro fiber cloths, but I feel that they are too soft. Doesn't look like the Flitz is doing much.

I guess my question is, should I be using a rag/cloth with a bit of texture or did I move up to the Flitz too soon?

Thanks.

Always ur a old shirt when I finish up on a razor but that's me and it works

I just use an old rag with a little bit of texture and it seems to work fine although I really only intend to actually polish and add shine to the blade.

What exactly are you trying to accomplish with the polish that you say it isn't doing much? Like I said, I just use polish to actually shine the blade - I'm not sure if it'll remove any remaining scratches

Maybe I am trying to polish out scratches that are too big. I will go back to 2000 for a bit longer and see how that goes.

For what it's worth, by the time i get done at 2K there is only a super fine scratch pattern that shows up when you tilt the blade in the light. Then the lightest of buffs brings up the mirror shine. It depends on two things. The quality of the steel will have a bearing on the results. Better grain structure {from smelt and heat treat} and better alloy content equals better result.
that said, the second thing is the corrrect sanding progression. Any quality steel benefits from proper technique. You must remove all scratches from previous grits before moving up. IE after 800grit sanding there should only be scratches as deep as 800grit. {BTW this is the finish i use on hunting knives-a good hand rubbed 800 grit finish is what i consider working polish} Then go to 1200 grit, but keep on that until all 800 grit scratches are gone and only 1200 remain. If you progress too soon, you will have depper scratches that become more apparent as your grits get finer. The only way to correct them is to go back down to the coarse grit and work up again. Each time you change a grit, try rubbing at 45 degress to the last grit and you will soon see the scratches you need to remove. The final one {say 2K} should run length wise and even. You could even stop there, but adding a light buff does make it pop.
This is just what works for me {i like to mirror finish kitchen knives and razors} and your results may vary. Hopefully though, it inspires a thought that helps you find your own technique to get the results you want.
Regards,
Adam

Thanks all. I went back down to 1000 for a bit then spent more time with 2000 than I did the other day. Today's results were much better. Was my first go at hand sanding and I got a little ahead of myself. Lesson learned.